Breastfeeding a newborn question

whitelightrider

I feel Im going to be spending a lot of time on this forum!!!

We took our little one home today and she's being breastfed. She was only born yesterday but the nurses said she was fine to go home.
She fed fine all day and slept pretty regularly. But tonight she will only sleep on my wifes breast. She'll suck for a few minutes and then sleep. If I take her she cries and if we put her into the moses basket she also cries.
Is this normal?

January

Yes, brush her cheek, strip her, anything to keep her alert while feeding... she's using the boob to comfort herself and she's not used to the big bad world, so would prefer to be snuggled up to your partner, because that's where she's been for the last 9 months.

There's some great breastfeeding advice on the Newborn & Toddler forum if you want to head over there for a look?

How Strange

Yes it's completely normal. As January said the world is a big, cold scary place for her. Shes been inside your wife for 9 months so the smell of your wife is the only thing she knows. Do lots of skin to skin before and after breastfeeding and try laid back breastfeeding (google it and you'll find YouTube clips). Breastfeeding should be on demand or if shes sleepy then every 2 hours or so. Newborn should feed 10-12 times per 24 hours.

For skin to skin you could strip her down and put her inside your shirt/jumper. It's a lovely way of bonding for you as the dad.

I'd say hold her close to both of you as much as you can as she wants the security and closeness of contact. If you're putting her in the Moses basket then swaddle her tightly in a blanket. It's also normal that they want to sleep on their mother at night so don't be alarmed and go with it. Cosleeping is perfectly safe as long as neither of you take drugs or alcohol.

Oh and congrats!

NextSteps

Like the others said, totally normal and the more time she spends in contact with her mother the better the breastfeeding will establish. Why not have them spend the afternoon cuddled up in bed, snoozing and feeding? That's certainly one of my fondest memories of those first days.

annamcmahon

I agree with the others and especially with NextSteps advice. We also spent many happy hours lying on our bed with our baby snuggled against my belly and my husband pressed against my back and his arm around both of us.

lynski

congrats you three!
there is a set of rules for newborns, easy to follow and very useful.
1. never stand when you can sit
2. never sit when you can lie down
3. never lie down when you can sleep
4. and these rules apply to mom first and dad second, but both should follow ;-)

The next easy to follow advice comes int he form of a poem:
Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

On a practical side, feed baby as often as they want, that phase only lasts a little while, they will find their rhythm and the schedule in only a few weeks. My youngest is 10mths and those first few intense days are like distant memories, those precious afternoons napping with a tiny baby while the bigger babies napped too are also a distant memory (although we got one in over christmas ;-) and yet it only seems like last week i started nursing my oldest and that was 5 yrs ago. I wish I had spent more time snuggling and cuddling instead of 'trying to get him on a routine' or being afraid of 'spoiling him'.

How Strange

Me too lynski. My one regret about the early days was listening to everyone telling me not to spoil him, not to hold him too much, to put him in his Moses basket, to let him settle himself, not to make a rod for my back by letting him sleep with us. If/when we have another I'll savour all those precious moments which go so soon.